Movie Info

RATING:

RELEASED:

GENRE:

STARRING:

DIRECTOR:

Raja Gosnell

DISTRIBUTOR:

MGM Distribution Company, Paramount Pictures

Please Note

In providing movie reviews on our site, CBN.com is not endorsing or recommending films we review. Our goal is to provide Christians with information about the latest movies, both the good and the bad, so that our readers may make an informed decision as to whether or not films are appropriate for them and their families.

MOVIE REVIEW

Yours, Mine & Ours

By Chris CarpenterCBN.com Program Director

CBN.com 
Can a family of 20 survive in today’s world without
destroying the house or each other?

That is the question Frank Beardsley and Helen North must answer
in a remake of the 1968 romantic comedy Yours, Mine and Ours
that starred Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball. Opening today, the
2005 version bears some resemblance to the original but has received
a considerable face lift. However, it does remain true to the
underlying themes of parents coping with adult romance and the
challenges of merging families together.

Dennis Quaid plays widower Frank Beardsley, a Coast Guard admiral
who is struggling to manage a household of eight children. After
moving back to his hometown, Frank runs into his high school sweetheart
Helen North (Rene Russo), also a widow with ten kids of her own.
It is as if time has stood still. They determine they still love
each other so why waste time? They get married within a few days
without telling their children.

Trouble
ensues when the couple discovers they have very different parenting
styles. Frank is a rigid disciplinarian who puts his children
through rigorous paces commonly found on military bases. Helen
takes a more “relaxed” approach proclaiming that “homes
are for free expression, not for good impressions.”

Battle lines are quickly drawn between the two sets of children,
setting the stage for a variety of comical mishaps involving the
physical destruction of their house, a converted lighthouse. Eventually,
the two warring families determine that the only way they can
be happy is if they work together – to break up their parents.

While this is a fun family film, movie goers will undoubtedly
ask themselves a plethora of obvious questions following the movie.
For example, how does Helen have any time to watch television
considering the fact she works a full time job and is the parent
of 18 children? Or, how can this enormous family possibly cram
all 20 members into two SUV’s? And the food bill? Please.

Nickelodeon
Movies, one of four studios involved in the production of Yours,
Mine, & Ours has certainly left their mark on the final
product as there are several scenes involving slime, colorful
paint, and even an unexpected love story between Quaid’s
character and a pig named Fiona.

Underutilized is Rip Torn, who plays Commandant Sherman and Saturday
Night Live alum David Koechner, who reprises the Van Johnson
role as Frank’s best friend.

Yours, Mine & Ours is rated PG for mild crude humor.
Specifically, there are two scenes of innuendo involving Mrs.
Munion (Linda Hunt), the peculiar housekeeper. In one, when the
children are sifting through an enormous load of laundry they
discover some racy apparel they believe belongs to one of the
teenage daughters. Mrs. Munion snatches it away claiming it is
hers. In the other scene, when Mrs. Munion is supposed to be caring
for the children while Frank and Helen are away for the weekend,
she can be found locked in a room drinking alcohol and watching
provocative movies.

This
movie has been accused in some circles of being Cheaper by
the Dozen plus six but for me it had a stronger, more impacting
message. Yours, Mine & Ours is first and foremost
a love story between a couple, their children, and the desire
to truly be a family. Parents will relate to the chaotic sometimes
humorous daily struggles involved in raising a family. Kids will
enjoy the slapstick comedy of sibling rivalry all the while relating
to the concept of making new friends, and in this case brothers
and sisters.

Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo are no Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball
but they do make Yours, Mine & Ours a fun way to
spend an afternoon.

About CBN

CBN is a global ministry committed to preparing the nations of the world for the coming of Jesus Christ through mass media. Using television and the Internet, CBN is proclaiming the Good News in 147 countries and territories, with programs and content in 62 languages.